


Where You Belong

by SirLadySketch



Series: Coding and Keyblades [3]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: AU, Bioluminescence, Coding & Keyblades verse, First Kiss, Get together fic, M/M, Mentions of underage drinking, Present Tense, Sora's POV, slice of island life, teenagers in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-16 09:34:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21034118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SirLadySketch/pseuds/SirLadySketch
Summary: They’ve been dancing around this moment their whole lives, but tonight there is magic in the air, that’s the only way he can describe it, and Sora forces himself to breathe. He can’t read Riku’s face but his hand is against his chest and he can feel the thundering heartbeat, see that Riku’s holding his breath. They’re perfectly still-- it’s come to this moment, and every fiber in his being is singing that he should move, that he should close the distance and kiss him once and for all. No hesitation, no fears, just him and Riku with nothing but the stars for company.Standalone short story about how Riku and Sora get together. Set in the modern AUCoding and Keybladesuniverse, although no knowledge of that AU is needed.





	Where You Belong

**Author's Note:**

> The entirety of this fic was inspired by and written to [ Madden's song, "Alive." ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcK7vaya5Lw) Just a little something to break the writer's block while I rev up for this year's Nanowrimo projects, _The Oathkeeper's Legacy_ and _Sound Bytes,_ which are also part of the C&K au. 
> 
> Also check out this [ cool video on bioluminescent plankton! ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOPliKfxk8Y)
> 
> Thanks to Plants, Asia, and Ann for giving this a read through/putting up with me. <3

They can still hear the din of the party in the distance, the steady bass of the band a distant heartbeat as they make their way through the woods. Sora tugs on Riku’s wrist, laughing as they stumble over themselves, hissing whispers to be quiet. It’s silly, really, since any sounds they made when they left were swallowed up by the music, and any noise of twigs they snap underfoot are drowned out in the ever-growing thunder of waves against the sand.

But Sora doesn’t want anyone following them to check up on them, doesn’t want anyone stumbling into what he has planned. This is their night, their moment, and as the crash of waves against the shore begin to muffle the sounds of the party, it’s easy to forget they came with the others. Kairi promised to keep the twins occupied, and it’s not like Roxas or Xi will miss either of them anyway. Sora knows they’ll have whatever time they need without worry of getting interrupted.

He turns back to Riku, trying to gauge how it’s going. Riku’s flushed and laughing a little more easily, although he’d put up some token resistance when Sora first tried to pull him from the crowds. Sora had to get on tiptoes to speak into Riku’s ear, oh-so-nochalant as he hooked an arm around Riku to pull him down, and Riku had put his hand on Sora’s hip to help him stabilize. _ Riku _ had been the one to draw them away from the party, probably so he could hear what Sora was saying, but Sora had just taken his hand and kept going, leading him farther and farther from the lights around the mayor’s backyard.

“C’mon, Riku! I wanna show you!” 

“Why’re we all the way out here again?”

“The stars! I wanna show you the stars in the sand!”

Riku had laughed and let Sora pull him along with no resistance-- has he ever really been able to say no? 

It’s something Sora’s thought on these last few weeks, something that makes his heart race as he thinks, _ maybe_, _ maybe_. He’s been wrong before about some things, but this-- _ this_. Riku grins back at him as he looks back, and he feels his face burn. 

“This isn’t some dumb reflection thing, is it?” Riku asks again, although even in the dim light Sora can see a faint flush on his cheeks, too. He’s pretty sure it’s not _ just _ the alcohol. Riku’s skin is warm under his touch, and when Sora pulls his hand to interlock their fingers-- the better to drag Riku along, _ of course _\-- Riku squeezes back, tightening the grip.

_ Maybe. Probably_?

“Just trust me on this!” 

They’re through the woods in no time, the last stand of trees breaking the pine-softened path into fine white sand. There’s a bit of a drop, a little more precarious when they’re tipsy and stumbling in the dark, but when Riku holds onto him a little tighter to make sure he won’t fall, Sora won’t complain. They kick off their shoes and head to the water, then wait, and _ listen. _ Riku still hasn’t let go of his hand.

The ocean drowns out everything now, and it’s easy to forget they’re not technically alone on the island, although the mansion is so far removed from this place and time that it may as well not exist. There’s still some time before moonrise, and the stars give them just enough pale light to make out the dips and curves of the sand. They stand at the tideline and let the ocean tickle against their feet before retreating, taking some of the sand around their feet with it. Beyond the water is a sea of stars, all twinkling lanterns hung in the inky velvet of the summer sky.

They’re utterly alone here, in this place, this pocket of time, and the night is _ theirs _ and theirs alone. They stand together, side by side, and simply _ exist _ in this moment together. It’s nothing special and yet it means everything. _ Maybe_. Maybe Riku can feel it, maybe Riku knows it, too.

Sora drops so fast that Riku let’s out a cry of concern, and it takes Riku a moment to realize that Sora’s knelt to a squatting position beside him. He tugs on Riku’s shorts with one hand and points to the sand with the other.

“Riku, look!”

Sora grabs a fistful of cloth to pull Riku to lean over, and he can feel Riku tense beneath the touch-- no doubt he’s worried that Sora will send him face first into the surf-- they’ve played that game before. But tonight he wants to show Riku this secret he’s found, _ their secret _ , if Riku will only look, and remember, and _ know. _

“Do you remember when we were young and I promised you the stars?”

“The night of the meteor shower,” Riku replies without hesitation, and Sora can hear the smile in his voice. “But from what I remember, I promised to protect _ you _. I don’t remember any astral promises.”

“You’re always so _ literal_,” Sora teases, but Riku squats down beside him, trusting him completely. Another sign. _ Maybe? _ “Fine. _ Tonight _ I’m promising stars.”

Sora scrapes the top layer of wet sand away, revealing the secret. A terrestrial collection of lights shining beneath his fingertips, small bursts of color that fade a few seconds after they appear. Riku leans in, running a finger along the same path. The sand lights up a pale blueish green again as the microorganisms in the sand react to his touch. The color dims quickly, but another stroke of his finger and the pathway blazes in yet another a trail of tiny stars.

He can hear Riku’s soft intake of breath, the closest thing to a gasp he’s gonna get, but it’s enough to make him smile. Riku reaches out and retraces Sora’s path, alighting the sand again. He ends up covering Sora’s hand with his, and the heat of their skin warms the ground to a dim, slightly pulsing glow.

_ “Sora_,” Riku breathes, and Sora laughs, scooping up a handful of sand.

“Xion read about it in one of her books, and I wanted to see if I could find any, and then I _ did, _ and then--” he coughs, slightly embarrassed, despite the fact that this is what he’s been leading up to, “I wanted to show you.”

“Sora,” Riku repeats, then moves his hand to cover Sora’s, intensifying the glow with the additional heat. “It’s beautiful.”

Sora looks up. His eyes have adjusted enough that he can make out more distinct details now, but he’s still not confident in reading Riku’s expression. There’s a softness there, and the light flush on his cheeks seems more pronounced. He moves to take Sora’s hand in his, letting the little stars slip between their fingers.

“_Sora_,” Riku breathes, then stops as though the next words are caught in his throat. Sora leans in, suddenly aware of how close they are, feeling the ocean rise up in his chest so that his heart is thudding in his ears. Riku is _ right there_, getting closer, even, and the moment stretches on as they hold their breaths, a silent consideration before they take this step they’ve been toeing, a line they’ve flirted with but never crossed. Sora can almost taste Riku already, the smell of mint and fruit heavy in the space between them.

A wave crashes into him, and he loses his balance. They fall together in a mix of surprised laughter, then the water recedes and he’s pressed up against Riku, fingers twisted in wet cotton as he moves to steady himself. When he looks up the laughter in his throat dies. They’re inches apart now, and time slows again.

They’ve been dancing around this moment their whole lives, but tonight there is _ magic _ in the air, that’s the only way he can describe it, and Sora forces himself to breathe. He can’t read Riku’s face but his hand is against his chest and he can feel the thundering heartbeat, see that Riku’s holding his breath. They’re perfectly still-- it’s come to this moment, and every fiber in his being is _ singing _ that he should move, that he should close the distance and kiss him once and for all. No hesitation, no fears, just him and Riku with nothing but the stars for company.

But Riku still hesitates, and it’s enough to make Sora pause, too. That niggling fear at the back of his thoughts that maybe Riku’s never said anything because he _ knows _ how Sora feels and he doesn’t know how to tell him no. Riku _ never _ tells him no. But Sora doesn’t think that’s what’s going on. He doesn’t think he’s misread every touch, every quiet moment, every hesitation. _ Probably. Hopefully? _

“Riku?” he asks, and his voice cracks partway through. 

Another wave closes the distance for them, and his fingers tangle into Riku’s hair as their lips meet. Riku opens his mouth without hesitation, and Sora can taste the mint and bourbon on his breath, a bitter clash against the lingering sweetness of his strawberry daiquiris, but underneath that is something distinctly _ Riku _, and Sora presses further to drink it in.

Riku helps. He’s hooked fingers through Sora’s belt, and when the next wave hits, he uses the momentum and that grip to lift Sora more flush against him until they’re chest to chest, heartbeat to heartbeat. Riku’s shirt slides up as he settles Sora against him and he’s so _ warm_. Sora moves a hand from Riku’s hair to the sand beside him, letting him prop himself up, just enough to look down.

They’re both soaked; Riku’s hair is a tangled mess and there’s sand _ everywhere _, but he’s outlined in the glow of a thousand little stars, some of which have managed to smear across his face like errant, twinkling glitter. The water nudges them closer once more, and Sora grins and ducks his head down to kiss him again.

It’s messy, and he can feel sand getting into places that they’ll have to scrub to get clean, but somehow he just can’t bring himself to care. Riku is _ here _, he didn’t say no. More than that he’s pulling Sora back down for another kiss, still a little sloppy but no less enthusiastic.

It’s the fourth big wave that finally breaks them apart, a more insistent rush of water that hits them with a clump of seaweed and its rubbery, salty taste. They scramble back from the water line as the surf pulls back with a stronger drag. They cough and laugh as they stare out over the water, and Riku’s hand reaches out to entwine his fingers with Sora’s again. Sora leans over and against his shoulder with a sigh, lips still tingling and face flushed with the possibility of everything that stretches out before them.

“The tide’s coming in,” Riku murmurs, and Sora preens a little to hear how breathless he is.

“Do you wanna go back?” he asks, although he doesn’t move, and Riku shakes his head. Sora hums in agreement, his head resting against Riku’s shoulder. “We should probably dry off before we go back anyway,” he says with a laugh, and Riku chuckles.

“Probably, yeah.” Riku lets go of his hand to raise his arm and gather Sora in, and Sora can hear his heartbeat again. Still fast, but slowing as they cool off, and he’s so _ warm _. Sora drapes his arm around Riku’s waist in turn, finding his hand in the dark. Riku squeezes back, and they sit, content.

Now that they know to look for it, they can see the plankton lighting up the waves as they crest and crash with the incoming tide. It’s faint, and in another hour or so it’ll be lost in the moonlight, but for now they watch the sea of stars above and below them. It’s calming, almost hypnotic, but Sora remains acutely aware of the taste of Riku on his lips. He doesn’t even _ like _ mint julips, but he could grow to like them if they come Riku-flavored. Unless…?

“Hey, Riku?” he says at last, breaking the silence. He concentrates on the steady beat of Riku’s heart against his cheek.

“Hm?”

“Does this mean you’ll go out with me?” 

Riku laughs and Sora can feel it for a few seconds before Riku tilts his head up for another kiss. It’s gentle and light, and Riku’s smiling as he pulls away

“I’d like that, yeah.”

“Me too,” Sora agrees, then settles back against Riku, wondering if Riku will let him steal kisses between classes, or if he’d rather save it for the privacy of their homes. A thought comes to him, and he tilts his head back again. “Are you ok with my mom and the others knowing?”

“Sora, your mom already calls me ‘son.’ I think she’s known a long time.”

“Oh! Yeah, that’s true,” Sora replies, but hasn’t quite settled back against Riku before he sits up again. “Wait, a _ long time? _ How long?”

Riku shrugs. “Remember the meteor shower?”

“_Oh_.” Sora lets that sink in. “I can’t believe this. I haven’t said anything for _ ages _ ‘cause I wasn’t sure if it was just wishful thinking, and I was gonna wait but Kairi told me if I didn’t say anything she would. We could’ve done this way sooner!”

“She said the same thing to me,” Riku admits, and he rests his chin against the top of Sora’s head. “But it’s ok-- maybe _ this _ didn’t happen til now ‘cause it wasn’t the right time.”

“But now that we have _ now_ , we have all of _ later_, right?” Sora asks. “You and me from here on out, the way it’s always been!”

“Maybe not _ quite _ the way it’s always been,” Riku interjects, and as if to emphasize his point, he ducks his head and steals another kiss. Sora grins in agreement, and settles back into Riku’s arms. 

Riku’s right-- things will only get better from here on out. How can they not, when Riku is there beside him, right where he belongs? Sora isn’t naive enough to think that now everything is going to be easy going from here on out, or that they won’t butt heads or have fights or, well, that things will really _ change _now that they’re officially dating. Riku still talks about going to the mainland for school, and he’s working when they graduate. That’s not going to change, probably.

But he has all the confidence that they’ll figure things out as they come to it. They always have, and they always will. Tonight is _ their _ night, and with stars above and below them, the shared warmth of touching skin, and the cool brush of an encroaching tide, Sora has never felt more certain.


End file.
